California woman scammed $3.5M from Hempstead schools, DA says

Officials say school district fell victim to an email scam that resulted in funds being transferred to an account controlled by defendant 

A California woman faces grand larceny charges for allegedly stealing $3.5 million from the Hempstead Union Free School District in 2024, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Donna Eckert, 66, of Escondido, California was indicted on grand larceny charges, alleging she was captured on surveillance video from banks in California withdrawing large sums of money from an account that had been wrongfully wired funds from a Hempstead K-12 public charter school.

According to the investigation, prosecutors said the school’s IT department had deep into the scam discovered that their finance director’s email had been “spoofed” or hacked, meaning that an email identical to the real address had been sent.  

Early in 2024, as a result of the mimicked finance director’s email — that officials believed belonged to the local charter school — funds totaling approximately $3.5 million were transferred to a new bank account with the name “DME Unlimited.”  

Investigators learned the business account belonged to Donna Eckert. 

Days later, prosecutors said they obtained surveillance video showing Eckert receiving cash from the DME Unlimited account from banks in Escondido and San Marcos, California. 

Bank records also showed her depositing large sums of money into her personal bank account, authorities said. 

Nassau County investigators allege that Eckert withdrew a total of $338,000 of the approximately $3.5 million wrongfully deposited into the DME Unlimited account from Hempstead schools and deposited the money into her own personal bank account.

Eckert pleaded not guilty at her arraignment on Thursday and bail was set at $25,000 cash, $50,000 bond, and $150,000 partially secured bond. She is due back in court on April 21.

“She’s 66-years-old, with no prior criminal record. She’s a widow, who cares for her special needs daughter. This has been a pretty jarring experience for her,” Eckert’s attorney, James Polk, told Greater Long Island. “But we’re going to try and work out a disposition that’s favorable to her and Nassau County, without going into too many specifics.” 

If convicted, Eckert faces up to 25 years in prison in New York. 

Donnelly called the case a cautionary tale for school districts across Long Island. 

“This defendant made no attempts to return the millions of dollars that were wrongfully transferred into an account she controlled,” Donnelly said. “Instead, she made multiple cash withdrawals for her own personal use, siphoning away educational resources meant for our students.”

Donnelly added that the case highlights how easily a compromised email account can go undetected.

“The best defense to protect yourself and your business is by confirming any change in payment information via a direct phone call to a known, trusted contact,” she said. 

Eckert was arrested by the Escondido Police Department on March 10 and extradited to Long Island on April 1 by members of the Nassau County Police Department Fugitive Squad.

_{Top: Photo by CHUTTERSNAP.}